NBI: Gangs target shady businesses for extortion

The number of cases of extortion has increased in recent years, along with a growth in motorcycle gangs in the country. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) says that businesses that skirt the law themselves are most vulnerable.

Bandidos MC members in Germany.
Image: Marius Becker / EPA

The NBI currently has several investigations underway
of extortion by organized crime groups.

According to NBI Inspector Ari Karvonen, the most
common target of extortion attempts are businessmen whose own activities are
not entirely on the up-and-up.

"Entrepreneurs with activities in the grey sector
of the economy easily drift in with organized crime. A debt is made up for one
reason or another, and then collection is made," Karvonen explains.

In addition to extortion, organized crime groups are
to be found dealing in illegal drugs and carrying out robberies.

Motorcycle gangs, according to Inspector Ari Karvonen,
have had an impact on the picture. He stressed in an Yle interview that the
problem is continent-wide.

"Finland is in no way isolated. This means that
there exist contacts with other parts of Europe," he said.

However, Karvonen added that police have the overall
situation under control. In Finland, the violence that characterizes motorcycle
gangs mainly makes them a threat to each other.

"For the average citizen, we can talk of
coincidence - of being in the wrong place at the wrong time," noted NBI
Inspector Ari Karvonen.